10.10.2020. World Mental Health Day. The HAZEL BERRARD Story - my battle with mental health.

10.10.2020

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

Today is World Mental Health Day and I have been in a reflective mood since yesterday. My day started and ended well, grateful to God for life. I am very conscious in always ensuring that my day taps into and exercises my four basic intelligences starting with my SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE. I exercise that through prayer - my one to one chat with My Maker and My Source. Then I proceed to exercise my PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE through an hour dedicated to some cardio work which is usually cycling. My EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE remains a constant and conscious effort with due consideration for my work as a HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONAL. My choice to work out daily was initially triggered by wanting to lose some weight because over the years with child birth and coping with the disappointment of some wrong major life decisions, I went into depression and did a lot of comfort eating and was reckless with what I consumed on a daily basis. I was also reckless in some choices with friends which in my head and heart in the right places I would have been wiser and more alert to read the signs on the wall.

I rediscovered my childhood passion of cycling. I rode my older sisters’ bicycles till I outgrew them and didn’t quite know how to ride. My childhood friend Papita loved me to bits (and we are still super duper close) and would often cycle to my house to play with me and offer me her bicycle to ride. I suffered a lot of depression which is mental ill health for over 15 years mostly due to a major wrong decision I made earlier in my life. My solution to battling with pain, disappointment and frustration began to see change however slow when I became more conscious with my SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE. I exercised MY FAITH IN GOD’s LOVE and GRACE. I still made mistakes, I fell on my face, I had ups and downs in my prayer life. I consciously constantly, consistently and courageously prayed and praised my life through MENTAL STRESS and FRUSTRATION and my conscious decision to be PHYSICALLY FIT through constantly, consistently and courageously exercising and encouraging a BALANCE lifestyle through my practice and public speaking engagements actually translated my MENTAL HEALTH into MENTAL WEALTH.

Many people are suffering from MENTAL HEALTH issues without even knowing that they are not mentally sound. Many others but are also afraid to address it by feeling shy to seek help. I remember once I was so traumatized by a car accident I was involved in that made me scared to drive. For a year, I never drove personally. I used a driver or public transportation everywhere I went. I sought medical help again at the DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY at KORLE BU TEACHING HOSPITAL. The few times I met old friends and acquaintances around that block who noticed I was visiting a professor for treatment “looked deeply concerned” 😊 They did not see the relevance of seeing a SHRINK due to a “mere accident” and they did not “think it was good” for me to be seen in a psychiatric department especially as an HR Professional.

I overcame depression through first introspecting and realizing that I was not myself, I talked more than usual and repeated myself too often, I would be absent minded and heavy hearted. I was miserable and stressed out. I have a very strong family support system and they have been priceless! They accommodated and tolerated me. They supported me. My prayer life and my prayer intercessors have been a true blessing. The few true friends I have have stuck with me like the real gems they truly are. My pastor and godfather has been awesome. My shrink is in the same age bracket as my parents. She remains the best professor I know in her field and I am grateful that as a woman of faith, she encouraged me using her faith in her craft and through the eyes and heart of a mother. God used her bless me tremendously as we journeyed through so many topics apart from the post accident trauma. Exercising gives me more mental strength than physical pleasure. It builds my resilience and my ability to face challenges, do new things and reflect on my Maker and My Source without whom I have no being.

I wanted to share my personal story to encourage anyone out there who is weighed down on not feeling too great to be bold and seek help. Mental health is a wide spectrum and mental illness can be so mild and can be a slow “destroyer”.

Today 10.10.2020 is WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY. Take care of your mental health and remain strong.

Dr Hazel P Berrard Amuah PhD, DBA